Karbala

Karbala is one of the great shrine cities of Shiite Islam. It grew around the tomb of Husayn ibn Ali, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad and son of Ali, who was killed here with his companions in 680. Pilgrims visit his shrine and that of his half-brother Abbas, while the memory of their deaths is renewed in the mourning rituals of Ashura. Canals from the Euphrates bring water to a city close to the edge of the desert.

The shrines drew the patronage of rulers as well as pilgrims. During the contest between the Safavids and Ottomans for Iraq, Shah Ismail visited in 1508, and the Ottoman sultan Suleiman also made gifts after his conquest of Baghdad in 1534. A further period of Safavid rule in the seventeenth century brought building and embellishment. By the eighteenth century Karbala had become a leading centre of Shiite learning, attracting scholars and students from Iran and elsewhere.

In 1802 forces of the first Saudi state attacked the city. They killed many inhabitants and plundered the shrine of Husayn, taking treasures accumulated through generations of donations. The assault left a lasting mark on the holy city. Karbala's religious standing nevertheless continued to draw visitors to the tombs and to the institutions of learning that had grown around them.